Don’t Call Implementation Act, 2003
And
Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 1988

Bryan Allen

BIS/220

December 11th, 2012

Jadie Giorgis

Has there ever been a time when dinner is just about to start and in the middle of saying prayer the phone rings? Dad gets up to answer the phone and on the other end is a telemarketer. The telemarketer is trying to sell something and dad isn’t interested; its dinner time he says, or maybe it is some voice recording selling something. It has happened to just about everyone. Because there have been advances in information technology; the result has been the creation of Acts of Congress to address the ethical issues which could violate our right to privacy. In this essay two Acts will be discussed: The Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 and The Do Not Call Implementation Act of 2003. Both acts have to deal with our rights to privacy. “In 1991, Congress passed the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), the first federal law regulating the actions of legitimate telemarketers. Its purpose is to strike a balance between protecting the rights of consumers and allowing businesses to use telemarketing effectively. Regulated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), this law requires telemarketers to formalize their existing policies and, where necessary, create new ones to bring their operations into compliance with the following main restrictions” (code of ethics, 2005).

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act was the Federal Communications Commissions (FCC) way to address the issues of the growing telemarketers in America. The Act addresses the issues pertaining to telemarketers responsibilities of proper identification, call hour restrictions, “Do not Call” Policies, auto dialers, facsimile regulations, and enforcement of penalties (code of ethics, 2005). This Act gives us as consumer’s rights to fight telemarketers who abuse our

rights to privacy. As consumers we communicated to the FCC how and it was expressed that the abundance of phone calls were unwanted. The FCC was forced to initiate a “Do Not Call” list. It was because of the “Do Not Call” list, the Do Not Call Implementation Act of 2003 was created. Since the creation of technology like automated dialing equipment, automated or prerecorded voice messages, and automated dialing systems there was a need for a “Do No Call” list (Federal Trade Commission, 2003). The down side is, there is a cost associated to rights of privacy. The way of addressing these costs was the creation of The Do Not Call Implementation Act. The Do Not Call Implementation Act authorizes the Federal Trade Commission to collect fees for the implementation and enforcement of a "Do-Not-Call" registry, and for other purposes. (108th Congress, 2003–2004) The Federal Government will collect these fees between the years of 2003 to 2007. (108th Congress, 2003–2004). In this “ever-growing” world, were companies are attempting to grow with it, there will always be telemarketers. With growth, there will be those telemarketers who don’t abide by rules, like when one receives telemarketing calls on cell phones, this is prohibited but it does happen. We as consumers have our right to privacy and the federal government has taken the necessary actions to address that issue. These two Acts are the answer to our complaints. It is important to know that these acts directly protect our right to privacy and the guidelines written with-in are very specific; telemarketers have to follow the rules or there will be penalties. Do not be afraid to report the ones who break the rules.

References

Code of Ethics - Telephone Consumer Protection Act, Retrieved from http://www.banctel.com/protection_act.php

Report to Congress Pursuant to the Do Not Call Implementation Act on Regulatory Coordination in Federal Telemarketing Laws Submitted by The Federal Trade Commission, www.ftc.gov/os/2003/09/dnciareport.pdf

H.R. 395 (108th): Do-Not-Call Implementation Act, Jan 28, 2003 Sponsor:Rep. William “Billy” Tauzin www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/108/hr395

http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/do-not-call-list